Distributed computing environments, or computer networks, are designed to give computer system users the ability to send and receive information to other computer system users, and to obtain access to data sources and program applications on the computer network.
The utilization of computer networks has increased exponentially over the past decade such that current computer system architectures and technologies are unable to handle the increase. Not surprisingly, as the utilization of computer networks increases, the need for more reliable and more efficient computer network management also increases.
A computer network consists of two or more computer systems that are connected together so that they can transfer information between the computer systems. The computer systems on a computer network may be inter-connected to communicate with each other using a local or wide area network utilizing a variety of network communication techniques. The details and operation of such networks and communication technologies are well known to those skilled in the art.
There are two main types of computer networks, namely "intranets" and "intemets." An intranet is a private computer network, such as for a company or organization, that allows information to be transferred between the computer systems connected to the private network. The data sources and program applications of the intranet are generally not available to computer systems outside of the private network. In contrast, an "internet" is a computer network in which information is transferred between computer systems connected to different computer networks. A capitalized use of the term intemet, or "Internet," refers to the world-wide collection of inter-connected computer networks that use the TCP/IP communication protocols to transfer information. The term TCP/IP means "Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol," and refers to a defined set of protocols for communication between computer systems and computer networks.